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CENTER FOR COASTAL AND CLIMATE SCIENCE AND RESILIENCE

PROJECTS

A next generation beach observing system for Hawaiʻi

 Research Projects 2018-2020 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Chip Fletcher Co-INVESTIGATORS: Mark Merrifield, Douglas Luther Graduate Fellows: Kammie Tavares, Anna Baker Mikkelson The proposed project will develop and institute a next-generation program for monitoring short and long-term changes in shoreline location and beach ...

Assessing the vulnerability of coastal wastewater infrastructure to climate change

 Research Projects 2016-2018 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Daniele Spirandelli Graduate Fellow: Theresa Dean Clean water is vital for stable economic growth, as well as human and environmental health. Water, wastewater services, and other critical infrastructures enable communities to prosper while protecting sensitive ...

Building Resilience to Coastal Hazards and Climate Change in Hawai‘i

NOAA FY16 Coastal Resilience Grant and cooperative agreement with Hawaiʻi Sea Grant in partnership with the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources and Office of Planning Project duration: May 2016 – April 2021 Questions? Brad Romine:  romine@hawaii.edu ...

Coastal Ocean Hawaiʻi Acidification Monitoring Network (COHAMN) and carbonate mineral dissolution study

 Research Projects 2016-2018 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Eric DeCarlo Co-INVESTIGATORS: Michael Guidry, Fred Mackenzie Graduate Fellow: Lucie Knor Human emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere have led to partial uptake of this gas by the oceans. This process increases the acidity ...

Collaborative investigation of hydraulic and geochemical connectivity between wastewater and land-use and the oceanic waters of Kāneʻohe Bay, Oʻahu

 Research Projects 2016-2018 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Craig Glenn Co-INVESTIGATORS: Henrietta Dulai, Aly El-Kadi, Craig Nelson, Celia Smith, Robert Whittier Graduate Fellow: Michael Mathioudakis The risk that sewage effluent released to the environment poses to human health and the environment is well documented, ...

Collaborative investigation of hydraulic and geochemical connectivity between wastewaters and other land-uses and the ocean waters of Waialua Bay, Oʻahu

 Research Projects 2018-2020 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Craig Glenn Co-INVESTIGATORS: Aly El-Kadi, Henrietta Dulai, Celia Smith, Robert Whittier Graduate Fellows: Jordan Mason, Lucas Ellison The risk that sewage effluent released to the environment poses to human health and the environment is well documented, and ...

Coral reef CO2 variations at the Coastal Ocean Hawaiʻi Acidification Network (COHAMN): Impact of basin scale oceanographic forcing

 Research Projects 2018-2020 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Eric DeCarlo Co-INVESTIGATOR: Michael Guidry Graduate Fellow: Lucie Knor This study offers to continue the highly successful MAPCO2 buoy program that we have been conducting at four coral reef sites around the island of Oʻahu, ...

Do seawalls lower property values?

 Research Projects 2016-2018 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: John Lynham Co-INVESTIGATOR: Arlan Brucal Seawalls protect homes but also cause beach loss. Is the benefit worth the cost? One way to estimate the cost is to see how much property values and associated property ...

Effects of watershed restoration to traditional Hawaiian land use practices on health of nearshore coral reef ecosystems

 Research Projects 2020-2022 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Rob Toonen Co-INVESTIGATOR: Chris Jury Graduate Fellow: Paolo Marra-Biggs Native Hawaiians used the ahupuaʻa system to successfully manage their natural resources for centuries prior to Western contact. Following Western contact, this land management system was largely abandoned, ...

Enabling real-time predictive modeling of microbial pathogen risk along the Honolulu shoreline

 Research Projects 2018-2020 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Craig Nelson Co-INVESTIGATORS: Anna Neuheimer, Grieg Steward, Margaret McManus Graduate Fellow: Jessica Bullington Microbial pathogen contamination of coastal ecosystems in Hawaiʻi is a significant threat to both human and ecological health and can have major impacts on ...

Fish Flow: Filling the gap between spawning and settlement

 Research Projects 2016-2018 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Brian Bowen Co-INVESTIGATOR: Stephan Karl Graduate Fellow: Derek Kraft The proposed research will track fish from egg production to the reefs where they settle and enter local fisheries on Oʻahu and adjacent islands. To promote sustainable use of ...

Growth optimization and survival of the bleaching-resistant coral genus Pavona for reef restoration in Hawaiʻi

 Research Projects 2018-2020 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Peter Marko Graduate Fellow: Claire Lewis Healthy corals are crucial to coral reef ecosystems, a fundamental part of the Hawaiian economy.  Unfortunately, coral reefs are threatened worldwide by human activity and climate change.  Nowhere is ...

Harnessing environmental DNA for healthy reefs

 Research Projects 2018-2020 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Brian Bowen Co-INVESTIGATOR: Michelle Gaither Graduate Fellow: Cassie Lyons, Mykle Hoban This proposal is to use environmental DNA (eDNA) to monitor the health of coral reefs in protected and non-protected areas around the Hawaiian Islands. All organisms ...

Hawai‘i and Pacific Islands King Tides Project

About the Project The University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant College Program's Hawaiʻi and Pacific Islands King Tides Project needs your help to document today's high water level events, also known as King Tides, to better understand tomorrow's impacts from sea-level ...

Hawaiian Islands Sentinel Site Cooperative — About

About the Cooperative Sentinel Sites Featured Projects Partners Resources About the Cooperative The Hawaiian Islands Sentinel Site Cooperative (HISSC) is a collection of four priority sites across the Hawaiian Islands designated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as ...

Hehihehi management for microbial-mediated sediment removal in fishponds

 Research Projects 2018-2020 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Kiana Frank Sedimentation has been identified as one of the top five challenges for restoration faced by fishpond stewards. It is not clear what the most effective (and cheap) mechanisms are for removing such large ...

Impacts of climate changes on a native and an invasive Hawaiian plant using a newly developed Intelligent Plant growing System (IPS)

 Research Projects 2018-2020 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Camilo Mora Co-INVESTIGATORS: A Zachary Trimble, Kasey Barton Graduate Fellow: Devon DeBevoise Plants sustain humanity, directly providing food, fiber, fuel, and oxygen, and are the foundation for some of the most diverse habitats in the world. In ...

Integrating climate science with local knowledge through community vulnerability assessment on Kauaʻi

 Research Projects 2018-2020 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Daniele Spirandelli Graduate Fellow: Alisha Summers Like many low-lying coastal regions of the world, the County of Kauaʻi in Hawaiʻi is vulnerable to the impacts of present and future hazards associated with climate change. While ...

Integration of next-generation sequencing into traditional Hawaiian practices to improve management and restoration of fishponds

 Research Projects 2016-2018 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Robert Toonen Graduate Fellow: Kaleonani Hurley Hawaiian fishponds, or loko iʻa, are ancient aquaculture systems that are models of sustainable aquatic resource management based on long-term experience from traditional Native Hawaiian practices. There is much ...

Investigating the origin and impact of sedimentation on the health of Hawaiian mesophotic reefs for sustainable coastal development

 Research Projects 2018-2020 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Robert Toonen Graduate Fellow: Evan Barba Hawaiian coral reefs have been valued at over $33.5 billion per year to the US public, and are a major driver of tourism revenue in the State. Yet, coral ...

Land-based pollutants in herbivorous reef fishes on Hawaiian reefs

 Research Projects 2018-2020 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Megan Donahue Co-INVESTIGATOR: Stephen Karl Graduate Fellows: Eileen Nalley, Julie Zill Pollutants, such as metals, pose a serious threat to coral reef ecosystems. In the past century Hawaiʻi has experienced significant changes in land use, ...

Longitudinal assessment: Our Project in Hawaiʻi’s Intertidal (OPIHI)

 Research Projects 2016-2018 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Kanesa Seraphin Co-INVESTIGATOR: Joanna Philippoff Graduate Fellow: Florybeth LaValle At the base of the watershed, the intertidal zone is affected by everything that happens upstream, from pollution to development. The intertidal is also vulnerable to threats such ...

Microbial biogeochemical cycling across a chronosequence of mangrove introductions across Hawaiʻi

 Research Projects 2020-2022 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Rosanna Alegado Graduate Scholar: Becca Lensing The red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) was introduced to Molokaʻi in 1902 and has spread quickly across the main Hawaiian islands. Mangroves are critical to the health of environment where they ...

Mitigating climate change impacts: What drives thermal resiliency in Hawaiʻi’s coral reefs?

 Research Projects 2016-2018 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Ruth Gates Graduate Fellow: Shayle Matsuda Reef-building corals engineer the reef structure that provides habitat for an incredible amount of biodiversity. These diverse ecosystems generate economic services valued at billions of dollars annually and have profound cultural ...

Our Project In Hawaiʻi’s Intertidal (OPIHI): Examining change over time

 Research Projects 2018-2020 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Joanna Philippoff Co-INVESTIGATORS: Heather Spalding, Craig Nelson Graduate Fellow: Patrick Nichols Although a culturally and ecologically important ecosystem, the intertidal is vulnerable to climate change, species invasions, overharvesting, and land-use practices. However, the intertidal zone of ...

Podcast #2: Loko iʻa

Meet Dr. Rob Toonen and Kaleonani Hurley and hear about their study of historical harvesting practices of crab populations in Hawaiian fishponds (or loko i'a) and the applicability to today's management practices. Read more about their project here ...

Predicting and mapping Hawaiian mesophotic coral ecosystems for sustainable coastal development

 Research Projects 2016-2018 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Robert Toonen Graduate Fellow: Lindsay Veazey Although there is little question about the economic, ecological, cultural, and conservation value of coral reef habitats, growing population, tourism, and coastal development are rapidly degrading them. Our fundamental ...

Predicting Hawaiʻi water demand under climate change

 Research Projects 2016-2018 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Michael Roberts Graduate Fellow: Nathan DeMaagd How will climate change affect supply and demand for water? The answer to this question is complex, uncertain and depends critically on location and context. On the supply side, ...

Rapid Response: Application of a qPCR-based test for Enterococci as a rapid beach management tool in Hawaiʻi

 Research Projects 2016-2018 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Marek Kirs Graduate Fellow: Eduardo Guimares Climate change is projected to increase the risk of loss for people, assets, economies and ecosystems as extreme weather events, such as tropical storms and hurricanes, are projected to increase ...

Salt Pond Hydrogeologic Investigation

INTRODUCTION The loʻi paʻakai (salt beds) of Hanapēpē (Salt Pond) is located on the west side of Kaua‘i in the Kona moku, the ahupuaʻa of Hanapēpē, and the ʻili of ʻUkula. For generations Hawaiian families have been harvesting salt at ...

Source tracking coastal groundwater and runoff contamination with microbial genomics and dissolved organic fluorometry

 Research Projects 2016-2018 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Craig Nelson Graduate Fellow: Kristina Remple Contamination of Hawaiian coastal waters by human activities is widespread and threatens coastal ecosystems and water quality. The high density of cesspools in Hawai‘i is potentially a significant source of ...

The role of sponges in nitrogen cycling in Kāneʻohe Bay, Oʻahu

 Research Projects 2016-2018 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Brian Popp Graduate Fellow: Joy Shih Coastal ecosystems are regions of remarkable biological productivity and diversity, yet they are among our most disturbed natural environments. Although many human activities cause change in the coastal zone, ...

The role of surface and groundwater inputs in driving water quality in Kāneʻohe Bay, Oʻahu

 Research Projects 2016-2018 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Henrietta Dulai Co-INVESTIGATORS: Craig Glenn, Paul Lucey Graduate Fellow: Trista McKenzie Recent findings suggest that in the Indo-Pacific region total submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) is estimated to be 3 to 4 times greater than riverine freshwater ...

West Kauaʻi Community Vulnerability Assessment

About the Project What is a Community Vulnerability Assessment? Participation News & Upcoming Final Report Questions? Ruby Pap: rpap@hawaii.edu or call (808) 241-4183 West Kauaʻi Community Vulnerability Assessment Final Report Mahalo nui loa for participating in the West Kauaʻi Community ...

West Maui wave run-up forecasts

 Research Projects 2018-2020 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Douglas Luther Co-INVESTIGATOR: Mark Merrifield Graduate Fellow: Camilla Tognacchini The long-term rising trend in sea level (typically, an inch or so every 10 years around Hawaiʻi) alone will not be obvious to the casual observer at ...

WKCVA Report Appendix A

Final Report  •  Appendix A  •  Appendix B  •  WKCVA Project HomeAppendix A provides the finalized VCAPS diagram from each CVA workshop. Please click on the link below to download Appendix A. APPENDIX A: VCAPS CAUSAL DIAGRAMS ...

WKCVA Report Appendix B

Final Report  •  Appendix A  •  Appendix B  •  WKCVA Project Home Appendix B provides the sea level rise exposure maps associated with the report.  Please click on the links below to download sea level rise exposure maps for each ...
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Learn more about the Coast and Climate Science

CONTACT

Center for Coastal and Climate Science and Resilience
2525 Correa Road, HIG 238
Honolulu, HI 96822
Phone: (808) 956-3013

Bradley Romine, PhD
Coastal Processes Specialist
romine@hawaii.edu

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